Daily Inspiration by Dr. Jerry Burton

“He’s Watching!”

“For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. (13) And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?” 1 Peter 3.12-13

Notice that Peter mentions three particular features of the Lord: (1) the eyes of the Lord; (2) his ears; and (3) the face of the Lord. His eyes are ALWAYS on His children. That is a thought that should give us encouragement and it should also give us a sense of caution. There is no place that we can go that God does not see us. There is nothing that we can do that is hidden from God. I am encouraged by the truth that God always knows where I am. I love the account in Acts 27 when Paul is talking to the sailors. He says in v. 23-24: “For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, (24) Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.” They had been 14 nights without any guidance from the stars. They were lost. God said to one of his angels, “You go down there and tell Paul that I know where he is and I am going to take care of him and all his shipmates.” (My translation.) No only are God’s eyes on us, but His ears are open to our prayers. Every time we speak His NAME, we have His EAR.
When we come to His face, “the Lord is against them that do evil.” God sees them too. V. 13 is a word of encouragement for us all: “who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?” God WILL protect us from the evil one as long as we are following that which is good. You ask, “How do I know what is good?” Glad you asked! We find the answers in three places: the Word of God – He wants us to read it often and He will speak to us through His Words. Prayer – this allows God’s Holy Spirit to unite our heart with the heart of God and we get direction from God through His Spirit. You may not have thought about this third one, but I believe God works through the circumstances of our lives. I believe He orchestrates circumstances to bring us into places we can glorify Him if we take advantage of the circumstance before us. A pastor friend of mine told me this: “I try every door God puts in front of me. Some open and some don’t. I go through the ones that open.” Just My Thoughts …